All Smoke and Mirrors
by Starcrust
Summary: A/U - Bulma has found evidence of alien life and sets out on an adventure turning out to be far more complicated than she could ever imagine. Perhaps some light O/C and in later chapters content rated M.


**The cover is made by Kamikaze_666 at devianart; all credits for the picture go to the artist – another fic inspired by this great picture is "Insignia" by **_**Piccolo is green**_**.**

**I wrote the foundation for this chapter when I wanted to participate in a challenge at the B/V community "We're Just Saiyan" at Google+, but I never managed to complete the story then. Now inspiration has finally hit me, and I will give the story another try, I hope you're going to like it!**

**Thanks to InspiredDitto for betaing! It would have been a clumsy chapter if she hadn't helped me.**

* * *

Stars were scattered all over the black space of emptiness. Some so far away they appeared not to move, others close enough for her to see how she passed by. The scenery was beautiful – even breathtaking.

Or it would have been if Bulma Briefs hadn't spent the last seven weeks traveling through space, slowly getting tired of the non-changing scenery around her. She clicked her tongue and decided to check in on the others traveling with her. She didn't have anything else to kill time with anyway… After positioning herself in front of the screen Bulma looked to her right and spotted the ship accompanying her. She typed in the necessary codes and waited for the other to pick up her call.

"Any news Ms. Briefs?" The man on the screen was her deputy commander. General Mallen had been the only general that didn't oppose the idea of a woman leading this mission. It was this foreign open-mindedness that landed him and his most trusted men to be chosen to accompany her. No matter how many times she asked him to call her Bulma, the general wouldn't drop his formal tone.

"The computer still says ETA is five hours, I just wanted to check in on you guys." She was tired of only being able to talk to someone through the computer. After much deliberation, it had been decided that she would be the one to attempt to contact the alien life on the planet they were heading for. The other ship containing a total of 20 soldiers was only traveling with her due to the real threat that her life may become endangered. She tried not to lament about how ineffective 20 men were against an entire race on a foreign planet. Being left alone with one's own thoughts for so long made it difficult to focus on anything else.

"We are fine, Ms. Briefs, don't worry about us." The line was cut in the same instant and Bulma sighed. How had she gotten herself into this? She knew all too well it was her own fault. She should have done as her father had advised her to and kept her mouth shut but Bulma Briefs wasn't one to sit tight and do nothing.

A year before her mission started several theories about aliens shaping the history of the human race had begun to swarm the internet. Even serious news-channels had mentioned the most popularized theories.

New religions had gained strong footing across the country and more than a few dozen had become widely popularized and accepted. More were believed to be on the way. When the most outlandish of the religious communities had begun human sacrifice as a way to bring attention to themselves from intelligent life in the same manner as those in mankind's past to appease gods and deities, the scientific community banded together to try and disprove these theories. Evolutionary biologists, archaeologists and astronomers had worked together to disprove the theories but what they found was not the answer they had been looking for.

The research had ended up showing the theories could quite possibly be true.

Capsule Corp had been requested to deliver develop machinery and equipment to aid in searching the universe for underdeveloped life to try out the theories. Bulma's father had, as the CEO, declined every request. He had founded the firm to help humans have better, easier lives not to – as he had expressed it – waste money on sending garbage into space.

But Bulma had been intrigued by the ideas and decided on making satellites and drones to fulfill the task at hand. Dr. Brief had accepted her choice but told her he wouldn't let his work be delayed by hers, meaning she could only use his labs outside office hours. She had ended up turning her day upside-down, sleeping the day away and working through the night. During some of the early hours, when her hands had been covered in grease and a pile of metal, wires and tools had made less sense than her overstrained mind she had cursed her father for making such a great obstacle for her. Later she had realized he had done so in an attempt to deter her from the project he himself was so much against.

Her work had been sent into space and months had passed with no reward for her efforts. Bulma had begun to work for her father again, her former employer had checked in on her less often and the news had focused on anything else but the ongoing human sacrifices. Life on Earth had pretty much gone back to the way it was before. But then one day Bulma received pictures and readings from a drone, turning everything upside-down.

Once again the news went crazy with headlines about aliens and life in outer space – but this time they were based on actual scientific knowledge. Bulma's drone had encountered mechanically built devices and traced their origin to the planet she was now on her way to.

Although the decision to visit the planet was fueled by her curiosity and hunger for a much-needed adventure, there was a nagging feeling that something was missing in her life. She had everything a 21 year old woman could wish for – except for a boyfriend… After several disastrous attempts with dating Bulma had decided to give it a break and focus on Capsule Corp instead. Fancy men only interested in her body or money had her fed up and she was about to lose all hope in ever finding a man who would want her for who she was: Bulma Briefs; a smart, short-tempered woman with a sharp tongue but a great heart. Not the beautiful multi-billionaire everyone was focusing on.

Bulma looked to her left and watched the star their destination planet was orbiting for a bit before getting out of her seat to grab some food. She didn't want her stomach to start growling suddenly when having her first encounter with aliens.

* * *

The landing went as perfectly as if Bulma had practiced it several times on location. All the readings told her she could walk out of her ship without needing oxygen-supply or the anti-gravitation-boots she had made. Even though everything seemed perfect, she could feel her stomach tighten a bit.

_What in Earth's name am I doing?_

She walked to the gate of the ship and waited for it to open while going through the most basic things General Mallen had told her: "_Don't stand to your full height, it might seem aggressive. Don't make eye-contact at first and talk with a soothing tone._" After taking in a deep breath Bulma stepped outside the ship and was taken aback by the giant crowd of purple aliens, all looking at her with their seven pair of eyes. Quickly she shot her gaze down and cleared her throat to say something.

"Welcome, earthling. We are happy to see your journey went well." Bulma's head snapped up and she looked at the alien in front in pure surprise. Had he just spoken Japanese? "You must be tired by your travel – and confused. Please allow me to show you our hospitality while answering whatever questions you may have."

The alien, who was speaking, walked to her side and gestured for her to follow with one of its four hands. It was a bit smaller than the surrounding aliens, but they all seemed to respect it and moved aside when it walked past them with Bulma following a few steps behind. They soon arrived in front of an orange house which was grander than all the others around it. She was given a tour of the inside and was surprised by the beautiful interior in all kind of colors. The alien offered her a chair and they sat down opposite each other with a table between them.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qaklu. I am the leader of the third quadrant of the planet Azkur. May I ask what your name is?"

"Bulma Briefs," she stammered, still a bit shocked by hearing the weird creature speaking Japanese.

"Then, Bulma Briefs of Earth, I welcome you to Azkur! You may ask me all you want to know." Qaklu shifted to position himself better in his seat while looking at her with anticipation.

"First of all, how do you know I'm from Earth?" Bulma had a hard time staying focused on her host. All the colors in the room made her gaze wander on its own. A frame, which seemed to show, changing sceneries, was the thing making it hardest for her to focus – it couldn't be pictures from Planet Azkur only. If it was, the planet would have to have plants, oceans and even clouds in every imaginable color.

"The people of Azkur travel to planets with intelligent life and guide them, help them grow. Our god, The Grand Shifter, has given us his blessing by giving us intelligence and craftsmanship thus making us able to proclaim his wisdom throughout the entire galaxy. But as he let us grow our own civilization, we let other species go through the same progress. We have also been on Earth. Even though we have been interpreted differently throughout your history, we are happy to see how humans have developed themselves enough to seek us out and help us reach more planets to proclaim The Grand Shifter's wisdom." His voice was soothing and the fear Bulma might have had disappeared with every word he spoke.

Bulma looked at Qaklu in pure astonishment. This planet and its inhabitants were what those _experts_ had been talking about the whole time! Even the location in Orion's belt had been foreseen by them. If she hadn't been the one to talk to this strange creature she would never believe it. All those theories had always seemed outrageous to her.

"Have you been keeping track of us the entire time?" She asked. The alien nodded. "But, how did you contact humans… Your look would freak us out!" She could have bitten off her own tongue. It was one thing to talk like that back at Earth, but to say such a thing to an alien without knowing whether he could kill her in an instant or not was about the most stupid thing she had ever done!

A weird, wheezing sound escaped the purple alien. By the look on his face Bulma decided it had to be some kind of laughter. "Oh, my child, you are a bright one. Of course we couldn't contact humans in our own form. That's also why The Grand Shifter has given us the technology to do as he himself can do: change our form to look like the people we contact. He even helped us make the technology I am using right now to talk to you in your native tongue."

"Wow, that's amazing!" she said in an attempt to make her host forget her earlier blunder. She was about to ask him more but was interrupted by the beeping of her watch. "Excuse me," she said and pressed the answer button. The tiny LCD screen lit up with General Mallen's normally stoic face. The high definition of the screen made it easy for Bulma to see his features – he looked genuinely worried.

"Ms. Briefs, are you all right?" A nerve in his upper left eyelid started jumping. "You have been at the planet for half an hour without making contact."

"Yes, I'm fine general. I have been met with great hospitality so don't worry about me." Her answer didn't seem to ease the general, but she was way too eager to go on with her conversation to take note of it.

She was about to end the call, but was stopped when Qaklu said, "Please tell your companions they are welcome to land if they want to."

Bulma nodded and looked down at her watch once again. "My host says that you and your men are welcome too, general." She could see skepticism in the man's eyes. "But if you prefer to stay in the spaceship I won't force you to do otherwise."

"We will be staying in orbit, Ms. Briefs, to keep contact with Earth." Once again General Mallen cut the line before letting her say anymore. Sighing in annoyance, she turned the contact-program off and looked at her purple host once again.

"As I was about to ask…"

* * *

The room was filled with chatter, all in Japanese in honor of Bulma. She looked at the aliens around the table. To think those people had shaped history of the Earth and many other planets was unimaginable. The fact that they had done so by playing 'gods_'_ was something she wasn't quite sure she was comfortable with. But the hardest part to wrap her head around was the fact that this meal was a celebration of one of their 'children' being mature enough to take on the role of 'god_'_ on another planet. She knew her mission from the start had been to try the theories on other species, but it had suddenly turned out a bit differently than she had anticipated.

Qaklu had informed her about a planet that was at the ideal developmentation period when first contact was usually made. He was vague about the details when she had asked for more information. He finally gave in to telling her that it would all be explained to her the following day.

A number of azkurians had a great deal of questions about life on Earth. They were intrigued with how their past guidance allowed the humans to develop technologies advanced enough to travel the great distances of space. Most of them were guiding planets at lower developmental state than Earth's, and they hoped to find the breakthrough in human history. When she was finally given a private room to rest in Bulma almost collapsed on the bed completely exhausted by all the questions and explanations.

The following morning, Bulma felt completely rested after finally spending a night where she wouldn't be disturbed by the computer's navigation system every few hours. As soon as she left the room she was greeted by an azkurian who escorted her to the room where the grand dinner had taken place. This time the table was filled with all kind of foods that reminded her of fruit and baked goods. Being directed to sit next to Qaklu, she settled comfortably into the seat.

"Good morning, Bulma Briefs. Did you sleep well?" The purple alien took her plate and put a bit of everything on it. When she nodded and thanked him for the food Qaklu smiled at her. "Have you considered my proposal? I do believe I have a planet you could start your first guidance on."

Bulma took a bite of a turquoise fruit. It tasted bitter and made her lips curl before the sweet aftertaste soothed them. In her attempt to mask the unpleasant taste, her hosts were kind enough to ignore the failed attempt. "I have given it a great deal of thought, and as I told you yesterday, one of the reasons for my journey was to partake in other worldly development. But please, tell me more about the planet you have in mind."

He ate a bit in silence before looking at her. "Let's wait until we have enjoyed this meal bestowed by The Grand Shifter."

Bulma nodded and turned her attention towards her food once again. She wondered how these people could have any belief in a higher power when they played the role of god themselves.

* * *

Bulma looked around and tried to take in the small, cozy room she had been given to stay in. Its colors were darker than the rest of the rooms she had seen and it somehow made it seem like the perfect place on Planet Azkur to discuss the matters at hand. She sipped the brew – which she thought was the azkurian version of tea – she had gotten and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finally the door opened and Qaklu entered the room. He sat down opposite of her with his own cup of the sweet and spicy brew and looked out of the window in contemplation before turning his attention towards her.

"The planet I will offer you to guide is populated by dark-haired, tailed humanoids and I therefore believe it will be easier for you to interact with them. The saiyans, as the race has chosen to call itself, are great warriors but their cultural and technological development is slow and almost non-existent. One of the greatest leaps in their culture is also the one that has given us difficulties to make them believe us to be gods." Qaklu was silent for some time. Bulma sat patiently waiting, hoping that by not interrupting his thoughts he would answer the questions already beginning to form about this humanoid race.

"Several generations before our first contact one of them became what we have chosen to call a supersaiyan. They interpreted the blonde hair, blue eyes and golden aura as a sign of something other-worldly and called the supersaiyan 'The Holy'. This supersaiyan had such an enormous amount of power coursing through him that his body couldn't handle it. The power, in its attempt to free itself of his body's confines, shone around him in a spectacular golden aura. His eyes reflected the green of emeralds. His hair turned to a brilliant gold. We thought of using the tale of The Holy to our own advantage and made devices to make the power of a person increase or decrease. Unfortunately it turned out that the saiyans, whose power we tried to increase, died because of the power crushing all their internal organs."

Bulma felt her stomach clench while a chill ran down her spine. Qaklu's tone was flat, emotionless and matter-of-fact while talking about the saiyans they had killed by this experiment.

"On the other hand, we had great success with decreasing the power of the saiyans in a short amount of time, and now the time has come to use this knowledge. Another supersaiyan has been born and is now the leader of the greatest tribe on the planet. We believe it will be possible to decrease his power enough to remove the look of a Holy. By having this ability we can hopefully convince the saiyans we were the one to give them this gift. After earning their trust the opportunity to teach them mathematics, astronomies and so on will finally be there." The purple man suddenly had a look of eagerness and optimism but Bulma found it somehow disturbing. "Just imagine it; such a magnificent, strong race being guided by The Grand Shifter."

"But if they really are that strong, how would I ever be able to perform as a god? The idea of showing them I have the ability to make The Holy a normal saiyan sounds a bit… risky." She hoped her voice wasn't shaking as much as her hands. She didn't know if she was beginning to share the azkurian's excitement or if it was unease causing this reaction in her. It was as if the butterflies in her stomach couldn't decide whether to flutter happily or fight for their life to get out and away from the purple man.

"Why would that be, child?" Qaklu seemed confused. Bulma thought there must be some techniques of the azkurian people he hadn't told her about yet.

After taking a short sip of her brew she asked what she thought to be the most obvious question, "If I threaten their leader, wouldn't the rest of the tribe attack me?"

At Qaklu's laughter, low and wheezing, Bulma was certain there was more to them than they were letting on. Something about this race made her uneasy but their technology was far superior to what she had designed.

"Oh, my child, you really are bright! That would indeed be a possible outcome. Let me show you the device you're going to depend on from here on out." The purple man stood and walked to the door, only waiting briefly for Bulma to follow.

* * *

Once again Bulma was surrounded by stars. Two days had already passed since she had left Planet Azkur and taken off towards Planet Vegeta, as the azkurian had named it after The Holy. She studied the watch-like device secured snugly against her wrist. It was genius – she had mustered impeccable self-control to not take it apart and try to figure out how it worked. She got out of her seat and walked to her room, eager to try the _shifter_ as Qaklu had called it. She had been instructed to wait 36 hours, for the shifter to acclimate to her body's chemistry. The waiting period was finally over. She had been told that the shifter had been set as the azkurians had seen fit and she was curious to see what they had done.

After going through a brief tutorial of how to use the five buttons Bulma activated the camouflage, as the 'god-get-up' apparently was called. At first she was sure there was some kind of problem. There were no changes at all! Suddenly she noticed it. A tail. It was the same aqua-blue color of her hair and eyes… Her eyes! They were not blue anymore, but golden! She pressed another setting on the shifter and her skintight jeans and V-neck t-shirt were replaced by a beige knee-length dress with pearls sewn throughout the fabric, making her new tail an even brighter blue. The skin on her chest was exposed in a seductively provocative manner. It was perfect. As she was admiring her new look a beeping from the shifter caught her attention. She pressed a blinking, purple button on the screen and a hologram of Qaklu appeared.

"My dear child! When you see this message, you will have had some time to see your godly appearance. I hope you like it, but if not, you can change it as you see fit by using your shifter. You may under no circumstances take the shifter off – it is the only protection provided for you, an invisible shield of sorts. It will protect you from the natives' attacks as well as the great gravitation of the planet. I hope the members of your team are getting accustomed to their shifters too and the use of them will be unnecessary." The hologram disappeared and Bulma looked in the mirror once again. She had seen some pictures of the saiyans and she was certain her blue hair and tail combined with her golden eyes would make them believe that she was a god. Even though she had been reluctant about it, she was starting to come to terms with her role as a goddess. Settling into her assignment this easily was frighteningly comfortable.

Bulma sat down in front of her computer and opened one of the documents she had gotten from the azkurians. After studying about this race, she was beginning to look forward to meet a new culture, even though it was in an unnatural fashion. She knew the names of 5 saiyans, the four leaders on the planet and one former leader.

The Sarpam tribe was led by Burdock, who she thought would be easy to recognize by his somehow unruly – even for saiyans – hair.

The Kamei tribe was led by Naveta, a tall and wiry man lacking the muscular physique of his race. His hair was short but spiked like all other saiyans' and he had a long beard with two braids.

The Kebun tribe was led by Nazup, a short, wrinkly man with no hair but a white beard all the way down to his navel. According to the computer he was the oldest saiyan on the planet.

The Pera tribe was led by Vegeta, the saiyan who had transformed into The Holy. He was of medium height but his hair, which looked like a flame on top of his head, made him appear almost as tall as Burdock.

Qaklu calling them great warriors wasn't an understatement. She could tell by the look of their bodies where only muscles on top of muscles could be seen… with the exception of Naveta of course.

Bulma looked through some of the videos she had been provided before getting out of her seat once again. She caught a Briefs glimpse of her new appearance in the mirror as she walked to her bed. To think such few changes could give her such a different air… Her stomach clenched in excitement as she got into bed and hoped the next two and a half weeks would soon be over.

* * *

Just as last time Bulma took a deep breath as she waited for the gate to open. She, Mallen and the rest of the crew had landed on an isolated island where none of the saiyans lived. They had decided on Bulma being the leading god, General Mallen and Sergeant Niel would be her servants as far as the saiyans would know. In reality they would be there to make sure she would be protected if her shifter suddenly stopped working. She didn't want to overthink what would happen if the device suddenly stopped working. Especially having the 10 times higher gravity in mind…

She was greeted by the two men who had left their ship as quickly as possible so the rest of the soldiers could get into orbit and keep in contact with Earth. All of them were in their god-outfit; the two men had very short, spiky hair, making them look a bit more saiyan-like compared to her straight blue hair. Their clothes were loose; the black trousers had a band just above their knees as their white tops, which had a V-neck down to their navels, had a band just above their elbows.

"Are you ready, Ms. Briefs?" General Mallen asked, unable to hide the wandering eyes traveling across her body. The way the soldiers, always professional, snuck glances in her direction confirmed that she indeed looked like a goddess.

"As ready as I will be," she said as she scrolled through a menu on her shifter. A few clicks later and she was hovering in the air. They all headed to the village where they were told The Holy resided. Bulma was mesmerized by the scenery passing underneath as she flew across green oceans and blue land, all beneath a red sky.

The thrill of flying without use of machines or mechanics was freeing. She had trained on her ship as soon as she discovered the setting but it paled in comparison to the rush of the wind on her face.

The tiny device was amazing! It should even be able to deflect objects, including people, if they were heading towards her too quickly to make sure she would be unharmed – she really hoped it worked, considering the great power she had been told the saiyans held.

After flying for ten minutes they spotted the village and slowly landed on what appeared to be the village-square. The small houses around them were made out of blue and brown bricks with matching roofs, which made them a grand contrast to the dark, almost black stone-roads. A few saiyans had pointed and shouted as they saw them flying towards the square and as soon as they had set foot on the ground they were surrounded. Bulma looked around and was met by black eyes in hard faces. They all seemed confused but it was clear they were ready to fight against the three strangers. The silence hung thick between them as the tension rose. Bulma had expected some sort of communication letting her know how unwelcome they were. Instead, the saiyans just stared at them.

"I seek Vegeta." As soon as the name of the man left her lips, confusing chaos erupted around her. Some of the saiyans started shouting, clearly upset that she would use his name instead of using his designated title of The Holy while others leapt towards them with hands balled into hard fists ready to swing. Mallen and Niel stepped closer to Bulma, all three of them silently praying that the shifter worked as planned.

It did.

When the saiyans attacked, they were deflected inches before making contact with their target. Some were knocked to the ground by the massive ricochet from their powerful punches. Others were thrown off balance from the invisible field protecting the strangers.

Yells of confusion and disbelieve flowed through the attacking crowd. Even as some of the bystanders chose to join the attack, all were stopped by the protection of the shifters. After several failed attempt to land an attack, the saiyans began to realize they were facing an impenetrable force and moved cautiously away from the three humans.

"Who are you?" asked a man as he took a step towards them. Bulma recognized him from one of her documents – Nappa was easy to tell from other saiyans by his massive body and lack of the typical black, spiky hair. He was the former leader of the tribe but had been forced to back down from his position when the saiyan named Vegeta had transformed.

"I will only speak to the man named Vegeta," Bulma said and watched as the face of the giant man hardened further. "Let me speak to him and all your questions will be answered in due time." It was amazing how she could form a sentence in her head in Japanese and then the shifter turned it into the saiyans' native tongue once the words left her mouth.

Nappa mumbled something incoherently under his breath. He then waved for them to follow and started heading towards the largest house on the square. He went inside without knocking and walked into the middle of the sparsely decorated room. "The Holy is in the temple of our ancestors." Nappa made almost no effort to hide his annoyance. "I don't know if he will return today or tomorrow." Holding back her sigh, Bulma's impatience grew. She wanted to get started immediately, nerves already on edge from the hostile greeting she had received in the square.

"Then we will find him." Turning around with her two bodyguards in tow, Nappa's massive frame cut off their exit.

"Our leader is seeking guidance from the world beyond and I will not let you interrupt him, no matter who you are." It was obvious that he wasn't joking, but Bulma was serious too. She had no intention of letting the hairless monkey-man stop her.

"Your decision will cost you dearly," she threatened. Folding her hands behind her back, she fiddled with the shifter's dial. Turning it to the setting she had enough foresight to memorize, she slowly brought her hands back to her front. Having the shifter set to temporarily cut off her target's power, she lifted her left hand towards the fleshy obstacle in her way. A low buzz from the shifter sounded. Nappa's eyes widened in confusion. Gripping his chest tightly, he crumbled to the floor where he after a few cramps lay unable to move but still fully conscious.

"What did you do to me, wench?" snarled the fallen saiyan with fear lurking in the corner of his eyes.

"I made your place clear – beneath me," Bulma said coldly as she walked past the growling man and out of the house. A nagging voice in her head was scolding her for acting so harsh and unforgiving. Telling herself that he hadn't been permanently harmed and would recover eventually, she dismissed the thought. Qaklu wouldn't give her ways of hurting the saiyans permanently… right?

A crowd had gathered around the house, summoned by Nappa's grunts of agony followed by the sound of his heavy frame hitting the floor. Bulma's head tingled with the power she had welded, however the sensation was short lived. Embarrassed by the surrounding crowd gazing at her with worry and fear, she realized that maybe being a god to be feared wasn't as appealing as she thought.

Slowly Bulma rose into the air and was soon followed by her counterparts. The air between the three of them grew tense. She could tell they wanted to say something but their military training had taught them not to question their superiors. The awkward silenced ticked by until Bulma finally broke the silence. "What is it?"

"What do you mean, Ms. Briefs?" General Mallen asked a bit too fast.

"What is it you want to say?" She could barely hide her annoyance. She was a social person and several weeks in isolation had made her eager to finally have some human interaction, but the military men didn't seem to share her eagerness.

"I just… Wouldn't it be wiser to be kind to the saiyans instead of agitating them by using the shifter to harm them?" The man sounded genuinely worried – he still doubted the shifter would be able to protect them from a saiyan's wrath.

"You might be right, but their hierarchy is based on pure strength so if we don't prove that we are able to take their power away, they will never accept us." She could still see the doubt in Mallen's face, but Niel seemed convinced. "But we don't have time to change our strategy now. If we don't get to Vegeta before he gets the news about us from others, our entire project could go down the drain."

* * *

**Please tell me what you think!  
I don't know when the next chapter will be ready – I'm also working on 'Cinder and Smoke' with InspiredDitto (find it at her page), which we probably should try to update soon… but I just got home from 2 months in Vietnam and she's busy with work, so no promises!**


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